SPORT PADDLE

Abstract

A sport paddle, for playing table tennis or similar racket sports, having a rigid blade with a flat face on one side and a glove attached to the opposing side. The glove has a strap for securing the sport paddle to a user's hand. A sleeve for storing spare balls is attachable to the glove. The sleeve has a tube-like shape with an open end shaped to receive and store one or more spare balls within the sleeve.

Claims

1. A sport paddle, comprising a rigid blade with a flat face on one side and a glove attached to the opposing side of the blade, wherein the glove has a strap for securing the sport paddle to a user's hand.

2. The sport paddle of claim 1, wherein the glove has one or more finger segments each having an open end to permit the user's fingers to be inserted into the one or more finger segments.

3. The sport paddle of claim 2, wherein the one or more finger segments is at least two finger segments and each finger segment is attached to an adjacent finger segment at their open ends, and wherein the glove extends from the open ends of the finger segments to cover at least a portion of the back of the user's hand.

4. The sport paddle of claim 3, wherein the strap is integrally formed with a portion of the glove that covers the back of the user's hand.

5. The sport paddle of claim 2, wherein the one or more finger segments each have a second open end to permit a user's fingers to extend through the finger segments.

6. The sport paddle of claim 2, comprising a sleeve for storing spare balls which is attachable to the glove, wherein the sleeve has a tube-like shape with an open end shaped to receive and store one or more spare balls within the sleeve.

7. The sport paddle of claim 6, wherein the sleeve has a loop shaped to receive one end of the strap therethrough to attach the sleeve to the glove.

8. The sport paddle of claim 6, wherein the sleeve has opposing sides and a top side that extend the length of the sleeve, and wherein the opposing sides are made of an elastic material and the top side is made of a wear-resistant material.

9. The sport paddle of claim 2, wherein the face of the blade is flat for substantially the entire area of the face.

10. The sport paddle of claim 9, wherein the face is curved about its perimeter.

11. The sport paddle of claim 2, wherein the strap has two ends which are connected with a readily releasable fastener to facilitate easy attachment and removal from the user's hand.

12. The sport paddle of claim 2, wherein the glove comprises a cushion positioned to sit between the palm of the user's hand and the blade.

13. The sport paddle of claim 2, wherein the blade is shaped on the side opposite the flat face to have a palm-shaped protrusion positioned below the glove.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described in detail by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0012] FIG. 1 is a photographic view of a pair of sport paddles, according to the present invention, showing both sides of the blade.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a photographic view of the sport paddle of FIG. 1, with a sleeve for spare balls attached to the glove of the sport paddle.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a photographic view of the sport paddle of FIG. 1, with a sleeve for spare balls shown separately.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The sport paddle, according to the present invention, is used to play a two-handed version of the game ping pong with a modified paddle that attaches to each hand. Rather than grasp a handle on the paddle, as with a traditional ping pong paddle, the sport paddle of the present invention is attached to, or worn on, the hands. A user may attach one sport paddle to each hand and play against an opponent, by striking a ping pong ball with either paddle to serve or return the ball to their opponent.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the sport paddle 1 has a rigid blade 2 with a flat face 3 on one side of the blade 2 and a glove 4 attached to the other side of the blade 2 for engagement with the user's hand. Optionally, a sleeve 5 may be attached to the sport paddle 1 to store spare balls for easy access by the user during play. The blade 2 may be made in a variety of shapes and sizes, but is preferably configured with a traditional ping pong paddle shape, as shown in FIG. 1. The blade 2 is preferably made of a stiff and durable material, such as plywood or plastic, to provide a solid striking surface for striking the ball and also to withstand impacts with a ping pong table or other object. The blade 2 may also be wrapped in a cover made of vinyl or other suitable material to provide additional protection and improve user comfort.

[0017] The face 3 of the blade 2 is flat for substantially the entire area of the face 3 to provide an even striking surface, but may curve slightly about the perimeter to avoid sharp edges and for user comfort and safety. Preferably, the face 3 is made of, or covered with, a high friction material, such as rubber or rough woven material, to improve a user's ability to impart spin to the ball when striking. Alternatively, the face 3 may be textured to provide grip. For example, a pattern of regularly spaced grooves or ridges may be formed on substantially all or a portion of the face 3. The face 3 may also have both a high friction material and a textures surface for maximizing the amount of grip and the user's control over the spin of the ball when striking.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the glove 4 is attached to the blade 2 on the opposite side from the face 3. The glove 4 is configured to engage securely with the hands of the user and remain in place during play. The glove 4 has a strap 6 which may be tightened around the hand of the user to keep the sport paddle 1 in place. Preferably, the strap 6 has two ends which are connected with a readily releasable fastener, such as hook and loop material (Velcro), to facilitate easy attachment and removal from a user's hands. Easy removal is particularly important when both a user's hands are engaged with a sport paddle 1. Easy tightening of the strap 6 may also be facilitated, while both a user's hands are engaged with a sport paddle 1, by attaching or forming a loop (not shown) at the end of one end of the strap 6 to permit a user to easily grasp the loop with a single finger to pull and tighten the strap 6. The strap 6 may also be elastic to provide for a secure, but flexible attachment to the user's hand. Where an elastic strap 6 is used, the strap may be a single loop attached at both ends to the blade 2 and sized to retain the user's hand securely in place.

[0019] The glove 4 may also include a cushion or pad (not shown), positioned to sit between the palm of the user and the blade 2. Alternatively, the blade 2 may be shaped on the side opposite the flat face 3 such that the blade 2 has a palm-shaped protrusion below the glove 4. Preferably, a gel pad is incorporated into the glove 4 to provide improved comfort and control to the user.

[0020] Preferably, the glove 4 also has one or more finger segments 7 in which a user may place their fingers for a more secure attachment of the sport paddle 1 to the user's hand, as well as additional control over the sport paddle 1 by the user. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the glove 4 has five finger segments 7, one for each finger and thumb on either hand. The finger segments 7 are preferably open-ended and sized shorter than the length of the average user's respective fingers, to permit the ends of the user's fingers to extend through each finger segment 7. This permits more limited and standard sizing for the glove 4 of the sport paddle 1, since the variability in length of users' fingers does not need to be taken into consideration with an open-ended configuration. Alternatively, the finger segments 7 may be closed at one end and sized to accommodate the entire fingers of the user. The finger segments 7 may also connect to one another at (one of) their open ends and the glove 4 extend from the open ends of the finger segments 7 to cover a portion of the back of the user's hand. This extended portion of the glove 4 may be separate from the strap 6 or may be integrally formed with or by the strap 6.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sleeve 5 is a cylindrically or tube-shaped container with one open end 5a, for storing spare balls for easy access by the user. Preferably, the sleeve 5 is made, at least partially, of a stretchable, elastic material to retain the balls within the sleeve 5. The sleeve 5 is configured to attach to the glove 4 of the sport paddle 1 so that the spare balls are on hand in the event a ball is lost or damaged during play. Preferably, the sleeve 5 has a loop 8 on one side that is sized to receive the strap 6 therethrough. The user may feed one end of the strap 6 through the loop 8 before fastening the ends of the strap 6 in place to thereby attach the sleeve 5 to the glove 4 of the sport paddle 1. Alternatively, another type of fastener, such as a snap fastener or hook and loop material, may be used to attach the sleeve 5 to the glove 4 of the sport paddle 1, but the loop 8 is preferred, since it is more difficult to become dislodged during play.

[0022] Preferably, the sides 5b of the sleeve 5 adjacent to the loop 8 are made of an elastic material, preferably a flexible mesh material, and the top 5c of the sleeve 5 opposite from the loop 8 is made of a more durable and wear-resistant material. This permits the sleeve 5 to be flexible, but also allows the user to use the edge of the blade 2 to remove balls from the sleeve 5 by pressing the edge of the blade 2 into top 5c the sleeve 5, between two adjacent balls, and sliding the blade 2 towards the open end 5a of the sleeve 5 until the ball is released from the sleeve 5. This saves the user from having to remove one of the sport paddles 1 from their hands 5 in order to retrieve a spare ball from the sleeve 5.

[0023] The present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to an exemplary embodiment, however, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the following claims. Therefore, it is intended that 10 the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed herein.